I know that I am not owed a job and anything but working and putting in the effort should count for something. Society and America as we stand are falling into a deep well that is going no where. I know what the real world is but I am running out of options here and if this doesn't do anything than what is the value of a hard working American that I am and trying to find a job here in Craig, which is close to impossible and if you think that is hard than why do we depend on coal here in Moffat county so much. I think that only if Craig have some other way to have a better economy than why are we still stuck in this poor economy in town. Also, what does it take to get a job in a town that the population is under ten thousand people. I think also that this town needs to do something or there is nothing to do but wait some miracle to come to town. I don't see anything going to happen sooner or later. Also, isn't this putting out the effort to find a job in this town or do I have to do something different because I already filled out more applications than I thought so far. Also, thank you Buff_bronc_fan for telling me what I knew already. The world is a cruel world and unfair but I think trying to make a difference is a huge plus that is needed in Craig and everywhere else.

You seem like a nice enough guy with good intentions, so I will offer you two pieces of advice:

1.) Focus only on what you can control. You can't change your past, you can't change the state of the economy - the only thing you can control is your resume, your attitude and your preparedness.

You seem to be getting caught up a bit in this victim mentality and letting your frustration cloud your focus. If you can't find a job in Craig, you might need to move to a stronger job market. Or you need to change your approach and sell yourself better. Regardless, the problem isn't Craig employers - it's your approach towards Craig employers. Even if the problem were the employers - you can't change them - so you're better off focusing on only the things you can control.

2.) You have to constantly add value in everything you do in life if you expect to get ahead. Learn a skill, outwork the next guy, make yourself valuable. And when you're just starting out - fake it until you make it. People respond to assertiveness - don't by wishy washy or sell yourself short.

Employers certainly won't respond to the sympathy angle. Explain to them why you are the best person for the job.

Keep your chin up. This job market is tough on everybody, but the cream always rises to the top.

well said Buff , well said.
May I ask what job market you are looking into Mr. Mercier? Mining, parks and rec., medicine, retail???
Craig, believe it or not, is limited on good paying, long lasting jobs, either mine coal, work as an administrative executive, own a business, or get into medical to get what you need to survive on around here. Even in medicine, pay is tight but competitive. If it is seasonal work you are looking for, may I suggest 40 miles in an easterly direction.
Your whining in a letter to the editor just may have been the proverbial nail in your coffin, people around here want workers, not whiners. No offense intended, but that is how it came across to me, whiney.
Suck it up, create a flawless CV and impress in your interview with skill and willingness to do what it takes to make a living and you might just salvage what you just may have screwed up. This may be BFE, but you still have to lay your cards out to get a job, it's just how it is.
Good luck.

I been looking for work and I am only here for the summer and if you think some of your comment is wrong but other parts are right. I am doing my best to do what is necessary and if you think that is whining, than I am sorry to say that is not whining but trying to show people that there are different ways of doing things in this society of hurting people and I had enough of it. I understand all that is necessary to land a job but in the United States there is a law called Equal Opportunity Employment and it seems to slant towards people who are more important and have a popularity that is what is needed to get a job. Well, I am sorry that if this letter seems to be a whiner and not a person trying out of the options possible in this society and I am tired of all this nonsense.

Hi AJ,
Here are a few things that aren't mentioned in the comments above and I hope they provide you with some helpful ideas when approaching a business for work.
1. Always arrive clean and dressed for the type of work the business conducts.
2. If you have piercings, remove them for purposes of doing business.
3. Express a willingness to work whatever hours and days are needed.
4. Be polite and smile.
5. Ask questions that show you have an interest in the business where you are applying.
6. Always send a hand written thank you note to anyone who has given you an interview. (it makes them think twice)

These tips are not meant to insult you, but are offered with the supportive intent of helping you. Don't give up. Something will surely come your way. Best wishes AJ

I was attempting to be nice, not snide. Your letter came across to me as whiny, and as business owner, I would not consider you based on that very letter. All I was trying to say was change your tactics, be direct, confident and true, not like you were in your letter, which was none of those. If you EXPECT people to give you a job, keep looking.
Again, good luck, seriously.

Thank you for that and I have been applying at a lot places and it seems like I am beating my head against a brick wall doing the way that we all been doing for years. I think there needs a change that allows people who can get hire easier and the best way possible. I don't like the ideas of using computers that humans can do is think about the person that is sitting in front of you.

I wasn't trying to be mean but I am trying to be respectful to anyone sees the one side of the of my letter and I was trying to show my side of the letter with all the respect that I can give. I am sorry if my comments seems on the opposite of what it is trying to get at.

OK, AJ, please don't take me wrong here, but if you are a college student, #1 your grammar is atrocious. If this is how you have filled out your resume and application, you are going to be hard pressed to find a good job. No offense, seriously, re-read your posts and tell me if they make sense in some respects. If I employed any people, and I don't because I am a one person business, I would look further than you, simply based on the fact that you wrote this letter effectively bashing people who won't hire you. Employers want workers, hard workers because that is what improves their bottom line. I am not in any way saying that you are not a hard worker, that you don't put your heart into the job given, but if you do what you did, and expect someone to hire you because times are tough and you need a job, like I said, keep looking.
Change your attitude, present your strong points, be willing to shovel s#!t to make a living and smile while doing it. THAT is what people want, not some whiny bi!(# who just wants a paycheck.

You've received excellent advice here; I hope you avail yourself of it. Your writing skills leave much to be desired - if your resume reflects that deficiency, you're already one step behind. There are no end of people who can produce a professional resume for you at a nominal fee; I suggest you seek them out.

What stands out most prominently from your screed is "I would like to say this is not fair..." As someone has already pointed out, life isn't fair. Deal with it. Whining about the inequities of life makes you seem like a whiner, whether you are or not.

If the job you want isn't in Moffat county, move. The reason I wasn't born & raised in the American Southwest is because the best job offered to my dad at the time was in the Pacific Northwest, instead of Albuquerque as he would have preferred. Instead of complaining about unfairness, he made the move and got on with his life. The reason I'm no longer in the Seattle area is because my company was sold and the new owners 86ed the existing managers to make room for their own people. While I would have preferred to remain in the Northwest, the best job offer came from the Rocky Mountains, and here I am.

I understand that you may have had some trouble in town in the past. Number one - hold your head up and be positive and confident, if you really have learned your lesson and grown up and moved on people will see that. Number two - use spellcheck, and have someone proofread your resume and job applications, if English is not your strong point, say so in your interview and highlight what you are good at. Number three - take what you can get, even if you are offered a job that is not as desirable as you would like, take it and make the best of it and keep looking it is always easier to find a job when you have one. I think that you are stuck in the negative, I am not saying that what you say isn't true, but it will not help you in any way to stay stuck in that mentality. Buck up and be positive! Everybody wants to work with positive people and it shows if you have it!!

Thank you for your comment and I already know all the advice that was mentioned already.

Mr. Moore,

I am not going to say anything because my English grammar is not the best or that good, but I am doing my best to write better.

To all who thinks that I am screwed than I can agree with you a little bit but I was only asking for a second chance. If you seem to zoom in my negatives than I am not going to say or write anymore because that is one thing that you all have focus on than I am sorry that I haven't done anything to show the positive side of the letter. Thank you for all for commenting good and the bad.

No one here is trying to be mean or rude, I think we are all trying to understand why someone would write a letter to the editor of that nature, it is basically cutting your own throat.
I am truly sorry you cannot seem to find a job, my advice is to take some of what we have said here and apply it, you will be surprised that it will get you farther than your previous approach.
Again, one last time, good luck.

I wasn't trying to be mean but I tried one. Now, I am trying another way and it seems that the comments that were left on this letter were showing another view. If I do cut my own throat in this letter than I guess this town needs to think and try to at least try other ways of improving the economy and talking to presidential candidates is not going to do it because they promise one thing and do the opposite. Also, congress needs to realize that small towns that rely on one source of market is not going to cut it. I am not saying this in a bad way but I think thinking outside of the box is needed in this town and not inside the box. This is what I did was thinking outside of the box and if no one can see that, than I did cut my own throat. Thank you for the last line of your last comment. If no one can change their views on the current job market in town and try to change something than it is doom to fail.